For tax purposes, they are usually treated as either a personal outlay or as part of the cost of acquiring an asset, such as real estate. These types of legal expenses are non-deductible (although you can deduct legal fees incurred to acquire a depreciable asset over a number of years).
Dr. David J. Skorton is the 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian. He assumed his position July 1, 2015.
As Chief Executive officer of the Smithsonian Institution, you entrusted to me the immediate control of the affairs of the Bureau. First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Various. Then a messenger, white-faced, arrived with a written note for the Chief Executive.